DESCRIPTION
For most of the Romanians, including my parents and relatives, having a piece of land makes you an accomplished member of society. The idea of owning this parcel of soil has developed as one of the biggest achievements in Romanian traditional family. The family is deeply rooted in the concept of belonging to a place, to a location, more than belonging to a group that shares common goals. For most of them, the land is sacred and the act of returning to their home is the only thought that keeps them focused.
As an artist, my situation is reversed. I feel my body of work needs to migrate in order to be fully developed. But, the strong feeling of community always keeps me rooted to the place of my birth, to the the other artists that shaped my vision. My body is in displacement, its tension competes the tension of the soil, in a slow driven journey that keeps me in a constant transitional state.
CONCEPT
Dumitru Sandu (researcher in the field of demography) sees migration as a continent, an archipelago, a hydraulic system in continuous movement. Our country has entered in a sort of third stage of migration, when five people per hour travel from Romania to very specific foreign communities. Sometimes members of the same family reunite, on a different land, but keeping the same customs and having the same cultural dynamics. Although they temporarily change the land, the behaviour stays the same. It seems that we are very resistant to cultural change. Romanian islands can be found all over Italy, Spain, UK, Germany and many more countries, but they have a bigger influence on the local society, than the local society would normally have on them.
In this video work I am connecting the idea of an almost static body with the principle of geolocation and the idea of “home”. This video performance is a minimal one channel piece, connecting my muscular tensed body in an imperceptible displacement, through a carpet of soil. The camera travels extremely slow creating a macro black and white bodyscape, while sounds from Planet Earth, recorded by NASA can be heard. The tension of my body competes the tension of the soil. A very dynamic pulsatile movement sensation is created by using microtensions of body, soil texture and numbers, filmed with wide macro lenses.
The makers
idea and performance Simona Deaconescu
video and editing Carmen Tofeni
EXHIBITION
7 nov – 20 dec – NYFA – New York Foundation for the Arts Gallery Brooklyn (USA)
PRODUCERS & SPONSORS
Commisioned by Experimental Project as part of “The Principle of Migration” collective exhibition, curated by Olivia Nitis and supported by New York Foundation for the Arts, co-founded by The Administration of the National Cultural Fund Romania.
special thanks to
The National Center for Dance Bucharest for providing the space for filming in Omnia Hall.
